Back when it was easy to burn and listen to CDs, my kids continuously tried to pull me into the modern era by curating new music they thought I’d like. They were always spot on and I found tons of good music because of them.
The other day I was listening to one of songs—now on my ultra-hip iTunes playlist—my daughter had sent me years ago. It’s by Mika who sings, “We’re running with blood on our knees.” But what did I hear? “We’re running with mud in our tea.”
Does it make sense? Absolutely not. Did I confidently sing it at the top of my lungs for years? Yes, I did.
But suddenly I heard it differently and, puzzled, went to look up the lyrics. Cue laughter.
How could I so confidently and for so long mishear those lyrics?? And what changed the other day?
I’m also going to confess to singing along with England Dan and John Ford Coley’s “I’m not talkin’ ‘bout movin’ in” as “I’m not talkin’ ‘bout molybdenum” which is weird, unless you know that an older cousin I admired was getting her geology degree. *shrug* That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
And I’m sure I’m not the only Sunday school kid who thought we were singing about Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear.
To soothe my ego, I began searching for others who sang equally weird lyrics and let me tell you … I found some hilarious ones!
- “Strummin’ my veins with his fingers” … instead of Roberta Flack’s “strummin’ my pain”
- “Life in the Vaseline” … instead of the Eagles’ “life in the fast lane”
- “Holy infantry tender and mild” … instead of Silent Night’s “holy infant” [this comes with a cute story, though. Her father was in the Army so it made perfect sense to her child-like worldview.]
- “If she’s beside me I know I’ll need Medicare” … instead of The Beatles’ “I know I need never care”
- “Dancing queen, young and sweet, only seven teeth” … instead of Abba’s “only seventeen”
- “I’m courting a tramp” … instead of Elvis’ “caught in a trap”
- And this two-fer— “Highly indiscreet, that is what we are” and “Ireland’s industry, that is what we are” … instead of Kenny and Dolly’s “islands in the stream”
- “A secondhand emotion” … instead of Smokey Robinson’s “I second that emotion”
- “A singer in a smoky room, smiling wine and sheep perfume” … instead of Journey’s “a smell of wine and cheap perfume”
- “Just wreck my Jeep before you leave” … instead of Juice Newton’s “just touch my cheek before you leave”
- “You’re the wombat I want” … instead of Grease’s “You’re the one that I want”
- “Trixie’s chimpanzees, you hear it from the people in the crowd they holler, ‘Trixie’s chimpanzees’ and every night the men would come around and lay that monkey down” … instead of Cher’s “Gypsies, tramps, and thieves laying their money down”
- “The cat backed into the outhouse” … instead of Elton John’s “you can’t plant me in your penthouse”
- “She’s got electric boobs, her mom has too” … instead of Elton John’s “electric boots, a mohair suit”
- “If you tease me you’ll be sorry, falalalala lalalala” … instead of “’tis the season to be jolly”
- “You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel” … instead of Kenny Roger’s “Lucille”
- “Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there, but just remember there’s a lot of bad underwear” … instead of Cat Stevens’ “remember there’s a lot of bad and beware”
- “He ain’t Kevin, he’s my brother” … instead of The Hollies’ “he ain’t heavy”
- And some more name-dropping— “Klaus to the left of me, Joe comes to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you” … instead of Stealers Wheel “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right”
- “Desperado, you’ve been outright offensive for so long now” … instead of The Eagles’ “you’ve been out riding fences”
- “Wake me up to pour you cocoa” … instead of Wham’s “wake me up before you go go”
- “Every girl’s crazy ‘bout a shy brass band” … instead of ZZ Top’s “sharp dressed man”
- “Lemming on a bear” … instead of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a prayer”
Got a favorite? Do you have any misheard lyrics you’ll confess to? What kind of music do you like? Do you ever run with mud in your tea?